Principal update – April 6

It is always strange to start the week on a Tuesday and have two short weeks back to back. Usually the Easter Break brings some warmer weather but the snow seems determined to stick around.  Unfortunately the wet, muddy weather has meant that we have to limit some recess time to “black top” only.

This Monday (April 9th), we will be holding a “Lockdown” drill. This is one of our regular drills that focus on emergency procedures.

This coming Wednesday (April 11th) will be Pink Day. Some of our senior students have promoted wearing pink on that day to support kindness and inclusion. On May 4th we will have a Live Different assembly that builds on the same themes.

We have had been selected to participate in the Sing it together – Music Monday initiative during Education Week in May. This is a wonderful opportunity for our school https://www.musicmonday.ca/anthem-sing-it-together/

Some ongoing activities include Girls’ Basketball and Caribou math contest. Announcements for Soccer and the Duathlon/ Triathlon have also recently been made.

Math instruction is a focus for the school. I also know that many parents look for extra math activities for students outside of school. The school has subscribed to an online service called Mathletics. I would like to thank our Home & School Association for a generous donation to help acquire this program. Mathletics allows teachers to set up specific tasks for certain topics being covered in class. There is a game component where students can challenge students from around the world on some math questions. The service also has a series of resources available for each grade that parents can access as a home resource. Class teachers have student name and password information and this has been distributed in many classes. If you are interested in the username and password please connect with your son or daughter’s homeroom teacher.  Information about Mathletics can be found at https://ca.mathletics.com/

On Tuesday April 24  from 5:30- 7:00pm.  Class 4/5  is involved with The Learning Partnership and are planning a Family Financial Literacy/ Coding Night in conjunction with our School Council. There will be 2 Certified Public Accountants coming to give a workshop to parents about “How to talk to your child about money” and a workshop to students about “How much does a pet cost”. There will also be a showcase of student math games created with the Scratch coding platform. Class 4/5 will also be selling pizza and drinks before the workshops on this night with all proceeds going to McMaster Children’s Hospital and the SPCA.  We hope to have take home bags for the families that come out and some door prizes too.

Have a great weekend,

Simon Goodacre, Principal